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And Bollywood's vote goes to Goa SANJAY BANERJEE TIMES NEWS NETWORK PANAJI: Goa was always a favoured destination for holding the international film festival of India (IFFI). The story dates back to some 25 years ago when Shyam Benegal, Girish Karnad and the legendary Satyajit Ray from the Bengali filmdom of Kolkata had pitched in for the beauty of this former Portuguese colony. Noted film maker, Shyam Benegal said on Thursday over telephone from Mumbai, "If you have a natural tourist destination like Goa that is well-known internationally, people do come over. Take for instance, Cannes and Venice that are of interest to tourist. The film festivals are yet another event happening at these well-known destinations. We thought Goa was always a good idea." Like his film Bose-the forgotten hero (a film made on the fiery Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose) likely to be screened during the IFFI, Mr Benegal pumps in a lot of his characteristic logic and energy for making Goa the permanent venue. "The IFFI venue was shifted every alternate year. It has done well all these years at Kolkata, Kerala and also Mumbai that also have their very own international film festivals. New Delhi was a venue that is very government- oriented. But to have a permanent venue in Goa is different. It would definitely appeal to foreign delegates with Goa being an international tourist destination." The large number of five star hotels in this multi-cuisine land, heritage buildings and lush green hills and mountains that ring around the small towns and villages are said to have overweighed all other venues that bid for it during the erstwhile BJP-led NDA government. Goa chief minister, Manohar Parrikar, said he was very happy for the state having being chosen as the permanent venue. Although the memorandum of understanding (MoU) on IFFI signed between the directorate of film festivals and Goa government is for only this year, a final decision on the venue would be taken after the festival ends on December 9, said well placed government sources. A good report card by the delegates on the infrastructure and the financial modalities of cost and revenue shared between the Centre and the state would determine whether a long term MoU is signed. Notwithstanding the condition that applies for the state to covet the status being a permanent venue, film makers Shekhar Kapur, Yash Chopra, Bobby Bedi all agree that there cannot be another place in the country, but Goa. And so do the senior bureaucrats of the Information and Broadcasting ministry who during their visits to the state said the film industry simply loves. So, the vote has to go to beautiful and romantic Goa. Gulf-Goans e-Newsletter since 1994 is moderated by [EMAIL PROTECTED], Associate goa-world.com & presented by Ulysses Menezes, Owner goa-world.com website. All postings with photos, graphics, cartoons archived at www.yahoogroups.com/group/gulf-goans/ www.goa-world.com/credits/
